November 13, 2010

When we are addicted to a habit, we start to see the addiction as a solution to all of our problems. For instance, someone addicted to alcohol might drink whenever they get upset. The urge to drink alcohol is one thing... drinking alcohol would help overcome that urge. But drinking when upset is a completely different thing. Alcohol seems like a real solution to the problem -- we start to believe that drinking is going to make us feel better. But we'll remain upset no matter how much we drink. (Well, until we pass out.) Refusing to drink unless there's an urge is one more thing that can help us live with alcohol addiction. (Of course, alcohol is just an example; this can be applied to any addiction.)